The improv act will perform on Thanksgiving Day during a meal for those in need at Malibu Methodist Church. Consisting of young people incarcerated at the probation department at Camp Vernon Kilpatrick, Locked Up in Malibu gives an opportunity for its members to open up and talk about themselves, while learning life skills.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to the Malibu Times
Exemplifying this week’s holiday tradition of giving to others less fortunate, the Malibu United Methodist Church is again serving a full Thanksgiving meal to tables full of strangers who might not otherwise get to share in the bounty.
For the past 11 years, the church has opened its doors to the homeless, the displaced and even the incarcerated, and no one goes away hungry. But for the first time, some will be singing for their supper. Locked Up in Malibu, the improv performance group of youths serving time in the probation department at Camp Vernon Kilpatrick, will be playing for the hungry crowd. It should give a whole new meaning to the term “Dinner Theatre.”
The brainchild of actress and Malibu resident Suzie Duff, Locked Up in Malibu is an innovative program designed to give young people who have run into trouble a certain skills-set to help transition them into the real world once they’ve served their time.
“The kids who work in this program come from backgrounds that create natural actors,” Duff said. “Their lives have been about lies and adaptation to danger. They usually have no voice in their community. I can’t teach them improv technique fast enough.”
With recidivism rates for children leaving probation as high as 90 percent, Los Angeles County is seeking new ways to break through to teens who frequently leave the probation camps only to return to the same environments that got them in trouble in the first place.
Craig Levy, the director of Camp Kilpatrick, says it is not easy breaking down the barriers of rebellion and distrust that characterize the young people that arrive at Camp Kilpatrick. “We start by emphasizing that kids working together is only going to benefit all of them.”
The popular sports programs like football, basketball, baseball and track are all under the supervision of the California Interscholastic Federation and go far toward coaching the children the importance of team play. “The Gridiron Gang,” a 2006 film starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, was set at Camp Kilpatrick and told the true story of one staffer’s trials in organizing a cohesive team of disciplined players out of former gang members and other social outcasts.
“I thought the movie was pretty good about showing how things really are here in camp,” Levy said. “But it’s not all about a scoreboard. We’re just trying to teach them to work together. If you win-great. But if not, did you grow as an individual? Our kids are not used to being successful, so we want to help them get used to it.”
Recognizing that there are many paths to that success, the camp offers the children, in addition to their regular schoolwork, a range of eclectic classes.
“We have yoga, chess, drum circles and tutoring from students at Pepperdine and UCLA,” Levy said. “What can we show them that will encourage them to find their own special talents.”
In her improv work with the boys at both Camp Kilpatrick and Camp David Gonzalez, Duff taps into a playful and creative sensibility that is sometimes difficult to dig out of people used to tough defensive exteriors.
“One of the principal tenets of classical improv is that you cannot deny whatever is given to you on stage,” Duff said. “These kids are masters of denial and, in this program, you only succeed by working with others in a positive way. They become walking conflict resolution experts.”
Bruce Kundin, the assistant principal of the school at Camp Kilpatrick, is an enthusiastic supporter of Duff’s program. “We have a unique population here,” he said. “Most of these kids have not been successful in public school programs or in adult interactions. Improv gives them a chance to open up and talk about themselves in a safe and open forum. It shows them there is a world of choices out there. It’s a terrific outlet for their creativity and should stay with them the rest of their lives.”
Duff is as tough as a drill sergeant with her charges and does not let them live one un-truthful or unthinking moment while on stage.
“Our improvs will all have Thanksgiving themes on Thursday, of course,” Duff said. “We have one exercise where the boys create a giant machine where each gradually adds one sound and one gesture that exemplifies whatever suggestion has come from the audience. Put all together, it creates a Thanksgiving machine.”
Another act will see the boys riffing on a memorable Thanksgiving quote in the style of a 1950s pop tune like “Da Do Ron Ron.”
“It’s all a part of teaching these boys life skills,” Levy said. “We are focusing on evidence-based programs that work and the improv classes are part of transitioning them home.”
Or as Duff says of her troupe, “If they can adapt this stuff to their real life, they’ll have a chance of succeeding in the outside world.”
The Thanksgiving Day Meal hosted by Malibu Methodist and the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue takes place at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Those with food to donate should call 310.589.1964. Those interested in volunteering should call 310.589.5508. Volunteers should RSVP before coming to the event.